Gruesome Glow
by Corrigan Karson
Summary: In order to prevent an intergalactic incident, the Justice League has been forced to become pawns in an all out battle for supremacy between Lantern Corps. Young Justice tags along as they witness their mentors at their best and their worst.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own them. Enjoy.

"What do you mean, MIA? Why didn't you tell us yesterday?!"

Hal Jordan sighed. This is why he doesn't have a partner, especially a young one. He grabbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.

"Listen, we didn't know about it until this morning. I got here as soon as I could to tell you. We're not even sure if it's something to be worried about. I was just told to inform you because you were invited to watch."

"I'm not exactly sure what worrying constitutes in your book, but I'm pretty sure that a League member being kidnapped might just be a problem." Artemis snarled.

Kid Flash seemed to be taking it worse. "Ohmygosh,Ohmygosh, UncleBarrywaskidnapped!WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?!"

Everyone started to murmur and whisper, some of their worry more so evident than others. Kaldur seemed to be contemplating what he should do when it started getting louder. That's when he raised his voice.

"Quiet! We cannot do anything until we have a clear understanding of the situation. Please, Mr. Jordan, would you please explain again."

Everyone silenced themselves, and Hal rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Please, Kaldur, call me Hal."

The Atlantean nodded, and Hal started over. "So, yesterday, I think, all of your mentors went on a deep space mission to a planet that was supposedly invaded by an alien race known as the Reach. I was contacted to contain the problem, but I couldn't handle it alone, so I called them. It was supposed to be about a week's mission, but once we got to the coordinates, the planet was deserted."

Conner looked a little confused. " Wait, I thought you guys had, like, heat sensors, or something. Shouldn't you have expected a trap if you didn't see any life on the planet?"

Hal looked down in shame. "Yeah, that's what Bats said. We decided to land, anyway, to make sure there were no survivors of the supposed attack. When we landed, we were ambushed."

It was quiet for a minuted, and then Robin spoke softly. "Who attacked you guys?"

The Green Lantern shook his head. "I didn't see who it was, exactly. It was all pretty blurry. I was hit in the head, and then woke up on Oa. I went to talk with the Guardians, and their information was a little...disturbing..."

Kid Flash turned a bright shade of white. "Are they going to use them as human sacrifices? Are they gonna throw them in a volcano? Will they be eaten!?"

Hal let out a shaky laugh, and then sighed. "Wally, they won't be eaten. They told me that, as a decision for intergalactic peace, each corp has picked an being stationed on Earth to represent them in some sort of tournament. I guess they all decided that the winner of the tournament would be awarded something by some unknown benefactor, and if everyone participated, then the agreement would be five years inactivity by the Red, Orange, and Yellow corps. It was a deal that they couldn't pass up."

That's when Artemis became enraged. "Wait a minute! So they're just risking Oliver's life because of some five year peace treaty?! How the heck is that fair to him?! Heck, how is that fair to any of the Justice League?!"

"Woah, calm down," Hal held up his hands. "Nobody is dying. That was a part of the agreement. Besides, this is really about who's ring has the most power as opposed to who can beat the crap out of someone. Really, it's a pretty good deal for the universe. They even invited the Justice League, providing that we all can behave ourselves."

All of them looked skeptical, but Hal just shook his head. "Listen, I know it sounds like a trap, but the rewards are too good to pass up. You don't have to come watch, but if it makes you feel any better, I talked to all of them after they were kidnapped, and they're on board. They just...they wanted you to know that they're okay."

Hal looked specifically at Robin, and the bird looked down. Everyone looked a little guilty for snapping at Hal once he got here. The Green Lantern sighed, and turned to leave.

"Contact Wonder Woman if you plan on going. I have to go back to Oa to train, but if you need anything, you can contact me from the Justice League computer."

He started entering his transport data on the Zeta Beam when he heard a whisper.

"Do you know?"

He turned around, not exactly sure what the question entitled. "Uh, what do ya mean?"

Robin stepped forward, looking about as frightening as his mentor. "Do you know where they are at?"

Oh crap. Hal's eyes grew wide. This was one of those things he'd hope they didn't ask. He didn't want to tell them, in all honesty. He wasn't sure whether to lie, and say he didn't, or tell them the bittersweet truth.

"Uhhh...Don't you want to surprise yourself?"

Robin's regular glare went straight into bat mode. Hal gulped. "Tell me where they are, Jordan. And I want the truth."

This had gotten the other's attention, and they turned to the Green Lantern with the same curious glare. He sighed. "Uhm, I think that Barry was with Carol. She said he was the only one she could grab before the fight got nasty. She said that he was injured a bit, but he'll be fine. He'll also get the honor of being the first male in their corp, so I guess that's good."

Wally almost let out a sigh of relief until he took in everything that Hal said. That's when he looked down in shame. "Uncle Barry just emasculated me. No, scratch that, he has emasculated my entire family for years to come. Out of all the corps, Flash, why the heck would get caught by that one?"

Everyone started to snicker, and Artemis came up to him. She patted him on the back, and smiled. "Look on the bright side, Wally. It's not like you had much manliness to lose."

That's when the red head swung at the archer. She stepped back, and shook her head. "Too slow, ginger."

Everyone started laughing at the scene before them, and Wally just huffed. After a few more seconds, Kaldur gathered himself. "Continue, my friend."

Hal chuckled once more. "Ok, ok. I'm pretty sure that Martian Manhunter was with Indigo. When I contacted him, he seemed perfectly healthy, and said that they were actually pretty hospitable."

Megan smiled. "I'm not surprised. Uncle J'onn is the most compassionate being I have ever met, and I'm sure he'll use the ring wisely."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Hal continued.

"Uh, I dunno if you wanna know," The Green Lantern looked at Conner, who just shrugged. "But Clark is good. He's with Saint Walker, and he said that they were treating him pretty well."

Conner looked down, emotionless. It got really quiet, and Hal wasn't sure if that was good, or bad. It was a pretty long awkward pause, until Kaldur spoke up.

"What about my King?"

Hal looked away, not being able to keep eye contact with Kaldur. "I...uh, he...He was with Larfleeze. I didn't get to talk to him much. He said he didn't want you to worry."

The mountain became silent. They all looked a bit disturbed. Kaldur, though, looked the most troubled of them all. Hal wasn't sure how to comfort the boy, and tried to let out a shaky laugh. "I...I'm sure that it was just because of his shirt."

That didn't seemed to help much, and Hal mentally face palmed. Nice job, you Green Idiot.

"Where's Ollie?"

The question resonated through the mountain, and Hal looked to the source. He saw Artemis, her eyes burning with curiosity and a little bit of fear. She already knew she wouldn't like the answer, but he saw that she needed to know.

"He's with Atrocitus." Hal said, emotionless. All of them now understood what that entailed, and if anything, the announcement frightened Robin more than Artemis. The blonde looked away, shame evident on her face. "Atrocitus was pretty generous, and if anything, I talked to him the most. He wanted you to know that he's fine, and that if you need anything, the arsenal is open to you. He said he'd be back soon."

She nodded, realizing that coming from Ollie, it was a "I love you like a daughter if I don't return from this, and be careful. Don't do anything stupid." She looked back at Hal, and that's when he turned to Robin, who couldn't meet his eyes.

"Listen, uh, Batman," Hal wasn't exactly sure what to say, as they all knew what was coming. "He's with Sinestro."

They knew it beforehand, but just saying out loud had a sort of cringe effect on the group, the bird especially. Wally went over to him, and stood there for support.

Hal was getting nervous. He decided that he'd talk to Robin in private about the Batman's message. Everyone could sense that they needed a little space, and they all left the room, Wally included. Robin looked away from Hal.

"Listen, bud," He put his hand on Richard's shoulder. "He said...Well, he implied that if you didn't want to see it, you don't have to. In fact, he told me that if you don't want to patrol this week, Black Canary can take Gotham for a few nights. Selina even offered to help out if it get's busy-"

"He was offered one once."

Hal looked a little startled, and stared at the bird in surprise. "Robin, what was Bruce offered?"

He probably already knew what was going to happen, but he was definitely shocked by the statement. Bruce hadn't told anyone about this. It wasn't in any of the files, and he would know.

Bruce made him read all of them.

Robin turned away from the Lantern in shame. He was a little worried about Robin, but he really needed to know what was going on.

Hal grabbed Robin, who looked a little startled, but Hal got straight to the point.

"What. Happened."

Robin looked down, a bit angry. "I shouldn't tell you. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Robin, this could help us in case something goes bad with this whole tournament thing. I need to know what Bruce decided not to tell us." Hal stated. "If you don't say anything, he could get hurt."

The boy suddenly looked guilty, and Hal felt bad. However, he knew he needed to find out what exactly was going on.

"It was a while ago, I think three months," Robin started, shaking. "He said that...uh, something yellow tried to attach itself to him. Told him he was going to be a part of the Sinestro Corps. He got it off, but...It seemed to unsettle him."

Hal almost started yelling in frustration. Bruce didn't mention that he just "happened" to fight off his arch nemesis's ring. That made Hal see the man in a completely different light.

However, as he looked at Robin, he realized this wasn't the time or the place. The Batman was everything for this kid, and no matter what he thought, he realized that it wasn't his place to ruin the boy's image of his father figure.

The kid looked down. "You...you don't think he's evil, do you? I mean, he's pretty scary sometimes, but..."

Hal stopped the kid right there. "Listen, I know he didn't chose to be taken by Sinestro, and I know for a fact that he's not evil. It's the same with Oliver and Aquaman. They are just victims of unfortunate circumstances."

Robin wouldn't look up, and Hal sighed. "Besides, the message he left for you proves that he's not just an emotional black hole. He said that...if anything happens, that he knows that you're responsible and smart enough to do the right thing and take care of Alfred. He said that...and these are his words here..."I know that you will be a better person than I ever was, and that you will change Gotham for the better."

Robin looked happy, and then a little worried. Hal himself thought it sounded too much like a goodbye. He decided to try and lighten the situation a bit. "Don't worry, though. Bruce is just overly dramatic. I'm sure everything will be fine."

Robin nodded, and smiled sadly at Hal. "Thanks, Jordan."

He walked away, and the Green Lantern sighed. "Hal, you idiot. You suck at comforting people.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Stupid, Hal, stupid."

He typed in the Zeta Code, and quickly went to Oa, hoping that this tournament was exactly what it was supposed to entail.


	2. Chapter 2

One Week Later

"Woah..."

Wally had to admit, the intergalactic arena was pretty impressive. It had, like, over a million spots, and several food stops. He was actually excited to watch the tournament, even though it was a trap and three of them seemed so depressed that it almost made the ride up here as miserable as the moment they found out.

"The first match, Rage against Compassion, will commence in fifteen minutes. I repeat, the first match, Rage against Compassion, will commence in fifteen minutes."

They quickly found their seats. Wally sat between Robin, who was still moping, and Roy, who also decided to come. Kaldur was next to Conner, who was sitting next to Megan. Artemis was up a row with Wonder Woman and Hawkwoman. On Roy's other side was Cyborg and Zatara, who had decided to show up just in case things got out of hand. Other members that decided to show up were behind them, which included Captain Atom, Guy Gardner(Who was actually supposed to be sitting with his corp, but decided to annoy the League instead of the Guardians), and Orion.

The rest of the League stayed on earth just in case something bad happened, but they decided it might be a good idea to keep a large group here in case they can end whatever disaster that could be created here.

"The tournament shall commence. Please be seated."

The entire stadium started to quiet down as strange alien music started to play. Guy started whispering to Orion.

"The music's supposed to be this new combined corp anthem or something. It's terrible."

Orion punched him, and Guy started whisper-yelling profanities. Wally snickered, but found the information interesting. They really were running for inter corp unity.

"Beings from all corners of the universe, welcome to the Corp Unitation Tournament. We greatly appreciate your attendance. Now, please welcome our beginning match Corps. The Red Lanterns, led by Atrocitus."

The Red Lantern seating section erupted in yells, whoops, and hollers. The Large red being walked onto the field with some sort of evil smirk.

"The Indigo Lanterns, led by Indigo."

The Compassion section stayed quiet, merely smiling and watching the field as their leader walked onto the field. The rest of the stadium burst into cheering, much like they did for Atrocitus. The attendees started to quiet themselves as the two walked off the field.

"Now for your battle contestants! For our first inter corp tournament, we are proud to show that our representatives are from Planet Earth! For this match, we bring you Red Lantern representative Green Arrow!"

Running onto the field was an Oliver that unnerved Roy and Artemis. The others might've only noticed the change in color scheme (Really, they didn't need to keep pointing out that Green Arrow was now Red Arrow. It wasn't that funny). No, the two proteges might've been the only one's who noticed the cruel smirk, or the shifty way he stood.

It reminded them of the very criminals that they fought.

"Something's wrong," Artemis whispered to Roy from behind, frightened. Roy could only nod in shock.

"I know."

"On the other side, we have the Martian Manhunter!"

The arena erupted again, and Me'gann only sighed in relief. She watched her uncle, who was dressed in an uncharacteristic shade of purple, walk out onto the field. She concentrated on reaching him.

"Uncle J'onn, are you ok?"

"I am fine, Me'gann. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Are you ready?"

"...No. I fear something is...unstable with Oliver. I do not wish to hurt him."

She frowned, and she tried to talk with her uncle's opponent. Suddenly, she was blasted back by a beam of red light. She opened her eyes in shock, and then contacted her uncle yet again.

"I felt it. What are you going to do?"

"...I do not know. I will try to defeat him, and we will see if it breaks him from whatever they have done to him."

"Be careful, Uncle J'onn!"

"I will, Me'gann."

She opened her eyes, and then tugged on Conner's shirt. He looked at her. "What's wrong, Me'gann?"

"They did something to him!" She whispered. "Oliver! Something's wrong!"

Connor's eyes widened, and then he looked at her. "Maybe your Uncle can fix it. We can't do

anything from up here."

Me'gann nodded, and then looked down in fear.

"Be careful."

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After the formalities, both candidates were led to a corner. The flat field changed, revealing a colorful jungle. Everyone was in awe of the sudden change, and soon they started stating rules. The minute that was over, the countdown started.

"Three...Two...One...Go!"

The two were off, but it was Oliver who disappeared first. J'onn made himself invisible, and started to wander around the small forest, hoping to find his opponent before his opponent found him. If there was one thing that the Martian had learned about the Green Arrow, it was that he was good at hiding.

...and if you didn't find him first, you were going down.

It was almost eerily quiet. This was not good for the Manhunter. His super hearing should've heard the Emerald Archer by now.

Suddenly, heard the twinge of a bow, and it was too late. His cape was stuck to the ground, and the moment he turned to look at it, he was met with a fairly large red fist to the face.

It threw the Martian back. Growling, he picked himself out of the rock he had landed in, and activated his ring. there was a large dragon, and it was heading straight for Oliver. However, the blonde had anticipated this, and he smirked. He covered himself in Red Light, and then made duplicates. One of the duplicates was hit by the dragon, but the others ran over to him.

They started to beat the Martian senseless. He was pushed around in the circle, making him dizzy. Suddenly, his eyes glowed, and he destroyed the duplicates in a flash of purple light. He brought himself up, but not in time to see the arrow aimed below his feet. He saw the archer let the arrow loose, and was soon enough surrounded by fire, his only weakness.

The Martian tried to stand, but was unable, and couldn't activate his ring. The Rage Wielder walked into the circle, and aimed one last arrow at the Martian. He cringed, and in a last ditch effort, tried to reach Oliver's mind again.

It seemed to be unexpected. The man had not been anticipating this, and for a brief moment, J'onn forced his way through the red reinforcements. He entered into what seemed to be a dark and endless room, and he suddenly found a beaten Green Arrow.

J'onn leaned down, and tried to wake him. That's when the man saw the Martian through hazy eyes, and looked quite shocked. That's when he started to freak out.

"J'onn, it's a trap! You need to stop them!"

That's when the Martian was forced out again, and when he entered the conscious world again, he saw a shaken archer drop the arrow. For a moment, the red glow around his eyes stopped, but were soon glowing twice as bright. That's when J'onn saw a fist.

He then fainted.

Oliver backed away, seemingly startled. That's when Atrocitus walked up behind him, and soon, Oliver was calmed.

"Good job, archer."

Soon, the intercom started speaking.

"Rage has won the first round!"

The stadium erupted in cheers. Soon enough, Indigo came to grab the Martian, but threw a well placed glare near the large red alien.

"I know what you have done, Atrocitus."

The Red Lantern laughed. "Is that so, Indigo? Can you prove anything?"

She knew she was beat, but she continued to glare. "Watch your back. What you have done will be your undoing."

The stadium still cheered as the Red group walked away. The Indigo tribe soon carried the Martian away to the medical room, and Me'gann, seeing the state of her uncle, jumped up.

"I...I'm gonna go help him."

No one stopped her, though Conner followed her through the crowd. The others suddenly looked worried. Wonder Woman was the first to voice this. "That was uncharacteristic of Oliver. Something is wrong."

Artemis huffed. "No, duh! That was not him... That was...I don't know what that was!"

Roy nodded. "Something happened to him. We have to go find him."

"No. We can't."

They turned to see Hal, and Roy almost punched. "What do you mean we can't?!"

Hal shook his head. "Listen, I know that wasn't Oliver, but the Council doesn't. Until J'onn wakes up, nobody can really say what happened. We have to wait for him."

"So we can't do anything!?"

"No, not yet. Please guys, I know it's not good, and people are looking into it, but one wrong move, and we'll create more chaos than we can handle. I'm begging you, don't do anything yet."

The archers seethed, but sat back down. However, Hal didn't escape Roy's anger.

"This happens again, I'm not holding back."

Hal simply floated there, and sighed. That's when Hal heard a familiar voice. "Do you think Batman is like that, too?"

Hal looked down at Robin, and then a sudden horrible realization hit him. What if he was...No, he can't think of that yet. An evil Dark Knight is the last thing they need right now.

Hal tried to smile reassuringly at Robin, and failed miserably. "We think it's just an isolated

incident. The Red Corp is known for cheating. I'm sure he's fine."

He didn't even sound reassuring to himself, but Robin turned around, seemingly accepting the answer. Guy Gardner looked up to Hal. "Hey, why aren't you with the Corp?"

Hal shook his head. "I could ask you the same question, but for your information, since I was the first lantern from earth, they decided that since there were seven lanterns, I could skip out on round one."

Guy smirked. "Not surprised at all that they'd give golden boy a free pass. Those council members love you, and for your information, I think the league might need me more than the corp today."

Hal shook his head, and then smiled. "On the bright side, the next round is Barry and Clark. I'm betting that it might be the best run today."

Wonder Woman smiled. "Now that is something I wanna see. How bought a bet?"

The adults and some of the teens started laughing and making bets of their own. Exempt from this was Robin and Aqualad, who were already worried about their mentor's fates.

Robin himself was already hoping that his mentor would still be coming back with no shark teeth embedded in his leg. Aqualad was frightened to think of what terrible plans Batman had for his King.

"The next match, which will be Hope versus Love, will commence in thirty minutes. I repeat, the next match, which will be Hope versus Love, will commence in thirty minutes."


	3. Chapter 3

Really, it was a good match.

It was a desert terrain battle, which definitely played to Barry's strengths. He created quite the tornado start out.

The audience was raging as the sandstorm was created. Superman seemed to be stuck in the swirling mess, and Wally could only cheer as his uncle kept the Man of Steel in the vortex. You could even see a speck of blue spin with the sand.

However, that only could last so long. Soon enough, Clark pushed his way through, and using his heat vision, he made Barry's dust storm into a glass prision. Superman looked at the speedster in triumph, but the man wouldn't give up that easily. He quickly vibrated through the glass case, and started taunting the Man of Steel.

Wally watched his uncle (and though he was dressed in a ridiculous shade of pink), Kid Flash cheered loudly and showed his obvious pride in his mentor. The ginger looked over to Superboy, and was pleasantly surprised to see Conner smiling and clapping for Clark.

Robin, whose spirits had lifted since the beginning of the match, also cheered for Barry, and the two boys watched in awe as Barry started making pink constructs, and flinging them at the Man of Steel. Clark countered back, and the two men battled it out.

The screaming arena loved this match, and even some of the contestants picked sides of the almost evenly matched pair. The Red Lanterns were cheering for Clark, while the Yellow started to clap for Barry. Larfleeze and his orange constructs took Superman's side, and the Compassionate Indigo tribe was smiling in silent support of the speedster. The Green Lanterns, many of whom had met both Justice League members, were equally split, with Guy(who had moved to his Corp for this round) leading Barry's supporters, and John Stewart, another earthly lantern, cheering with the other half for Clark.

The end of the battle was just as exciting as the rest of it, leading it to a standoff of Clark's ring and Barry's. The light was pushed to it's limits, and it went back and forth until a bright explosion. When it cleared, both Barry and Clark were on their knees, completely exhausted. It was close, but Clark managed to stay up only a few seconds longer than Barry, making the Blue Lantern Representative the winner of this round.

The arena erupted with cheers, absolutely entertained by this round, instead of disturbed like the last one. Both sides were equally cheered for, many shouting in support for Barry, and many yelling for Clark's victory.

"Thirty minutes until round three, Fear against Greed. Again, thirty minutes until round three, Fear against Greed."

This brought everyone back to reality, and suddenly a few were worried. However, many of them decided to keep their minds off the inevitable, and began to praise the previous match highly. During they're short break, Me'gann came back from the medical room, smiling.

"Uncle J'onn should be fine. He just needs some rest and he should be back up tomorrow morning. Then we can get everything straightened out."

This made Artemis and Roy smile wearily, and it caused Wally to open his mouth and tell her every insignificant detail of the previous match. As that occurred, Robin and Aqualad looked to each other warily.

May the best hero survive.

"Please take your seats. Round three will begin momentarily."


	4. Chapter 4

Soon enough, Sinestro and Larfleeze were out on the field. Around the time they made these announcements, Barry was surprisingly sitting by Wally. Even more surprising was the fact that he was not glowing fuchsia. Wally hugged his uncle, and beamed at him.

"Good job, Uncle Barry!"

Barry laughed. "Thanks, though I think that'll be the last time I wear pink. Now, what's been happening? I've been stuck behind the scenes for a while. What did I miss?"

That's when Wally's face became grim, and he pointed at the first contestant out.

"That's what happened."

Barry was shocked when Arthur walked out onto the field covered in orange. He seemed to guard his trident as he walked into the arena, and on his hand was an orange ring. Barry spluttered.

"But...but I... Isn't this tournament only supposed to be for Blue, Green, Indigo, and Pink?!"

Robin looked panicked. "That isn't the worst of it."

Flash almost had a heart attack as the Batman walked out onto the field. The constant glare and yellow highlights to his uniform made the speedster very unhappy. He looked to Robin, who looked even more upset than he did.

"Welcome, Aquaman of the Orange Lantern Corp! Batman of the Yellow Lantern Corp!"

Robin could only stare as the two took opposite sides. He then leaned down to M'gann.

"Hey, can you get inside his head? Make sure he's...he's, uh, still there?"

Miss Martian shook her head. "Robin, the last time I tried to get in his head, which was when I first met him, I was thrusted out of his psych and left with a migraine. Right now? If what's covering his head is the same as Green Arrow's? I couldn't get in there if I wanted to. Same problem if I tried to try Aquaman. Uncle J'onn might be able to, but I'm not even going to venture near either mind."

Robin sunk back into his seat, and Wally looked at him in pity.

The field ended up changing into something that looked a lot like Gotham harbor, and the moment Bruce took to the skyscrapers, and Aquaman to the sea, the battle began.

Aquaman started attacking first, large oceanic creatures, some of which Wally didn't even know existed, barely missing Bruce by an inch or so. All of them had insane amounts of teeth, and the moment that Bruce allowed one to grab him, it would be game over.

Batman seemed to notice that, too, and Robin looked in fear as one grabbed him by the leg. He fell, and curled up into his cape. Aquaman smirked, and suddenly two tentacles grabbed him by the arms. With a strangely sadistic look on his face, Aquaman brought Bruce close to him. Bruce seemed incoherent, and with blood running down his leg, no one was surprised. The King of Atlantis took his trident, and raised it. He then plunged it into the bat. However, Robin noticed a small smirk on his mentor's face.

As soon as the weapon pierced the bat, the man disappeared. It was only too late that Aquaman realized he was duped. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a yellow blur grabbed Arthur, and threw him on the streets. Aquaman, realizing he was powerless if he didn't get back to the ocean soon, ran towards the water, only to be stopped by the Batman himself.

Suddenly, Bruce had no mercy. He started beating the Atlantean into submission, throwing him against walls and cutting him with batarangs. Aquaman could hardly stand, but Bruce wasn't done.

The man ran into an alley, and then bright, yellow light flashed above the city. The heat from it was starting to fry the ocean native. He cried out from the pain, but the light persisted until the man was within an inch of his life. The vigilante stopped, and,reluctantly, the speakers came to life.

"...The Yellow Lanterns win!"

There was no cheering at the show of cruelty, though the other Yellow Lanterns looked pleased. Suddenly, the Batman disappeared.

That's when they rushed to grab Aquaman, but the med team was shocked to see no burn marks. In fact, there weren't any marks at all. However, seconds after they arrived at his side, the man shot up in a panicked fashion.

"Don't let me burn!"

The hysteric king started to struggle so much that they sedated him, and the Justice League was in utter shock. That's when Robin started to speak.

"Fear. Pure, unadulterated fear. He knows."

Barry was confused and frightened by the statement. Guy, who had made his way back, looked at the panicking kid. "What are you talking' about, kid?"

Robin shivered. "A long time ago, before I was a part of this, that was all he wanted to accomplish. He wanted to create fear in criminals. That was his greatest weapon. He knows exactly how to use it, how to twist your thoughts. He knows exactly what you're all scared of, he's cataloged it. Now, he can use it to his advantage. Nothing can stop him."

The other's sat there nervously and silently. Soon enough, Hal floated over with a grimace. "Aquaman was hit hard. It might take him a while to recover."

Kaldur looked at him in fear. "What happened to him?"

Hal looked at the young Atlantean, and shook his head. "Apparently Batman fried him to death. At least, that's what he thinks happened. It scared the life out of him, literally. A little bit longer, and Aquaman would've been brain dead."

Robin shook his head. "He won't kill him."

Hal looked at Robin questioningly. "What makes you think so?"

Robin shrugged. "He can't. His greatest moral principle is his "No-Kill" rule. It's ingrained in him, he can't break it. Besides, what good is creating fear if you can't torture people with the memory of it?"

The Justice League looked at Robin cautiously, and the bird turned away. "It's Gotham. Only the most dangerous, the most fearful survive. There are things about being human, about being in our city, that you can't understand. You have to be feared, or villains have no qualms about killing you. Burying you six feet under. Making sure that your dead."

It seemed that they're Robin had suddenly turned cynical, and had decided to stop sharing. That's when Hal spoke again.

"...Alright. Well, the healers said that J'onn might be able to help him. He seems to be better now that he has the Orange Lantern Ring off. The Guardians have asked Mogo if you can stay with-or more accurately on- him. He's obliged, so you'll be staying with me, Guy, and John on Mogo tonight. The next round will start tomorrow."

It was quiet again, and then Wonder Woman stood up. "Do you know who is fighting tomorrow then?"

Hal nodded. "It's me and Arrow, which leaves Bats with..."

Diana was suddenly scared. "Clark. Has someone warned him?"

"Don't worry, Diana. I saw it."

Clark appeared out of nowhere, with a grim look on his face. Everyone seemed to let go of whatever breathe they were holding. "Is Arthur alright? And J'onn?"

Hal looked at him. "They'll live."

Clark nodded. "Saint Walker said that I could stay with all of you tonight, of course, if that's okay with Hal."

"That might be best. Then we can discuss what we can do about tomorrow." Hal explained.

They were silent again, and then everyone started to gather their things. As Hal was grabbing a few things from Diana, he suddenly got a call.

"Yes, this is Hal...Wait, what?...Oh, no, absolutely not...They're kids! Did you see...But...Fine, fine, fine! I'll ask!"

Hal looked over to Diana. "What was that about?"

The Green Lantern looked away in anger, and then looked at Robin, Roy, and Artemis. He then looked back at Diana. "Sinestro and Atrocitus went to talk to the Guardians. Batman and Green Arrow wish to speak with their proteges."

Everyone became silent. That's when Clark started to speak. "Oh no, absolutely not. Not after what happened with-"

"Yes. We wanna see him."

They turned to see Artemis and Roy staring defiantly at Hal. Clark looked exasperated. "Are you kidding?! Did you see what just happened to J'onn? Does that give you any clue what danger you're in?!"

The archers nodded, and Roy spoke. "We need to see him. Maybe we can do something about it...and let's be honest. If you don't let us go now, then we can always sneak away and do it later."

Diana stared at them with disapproval for a moment, and then sighed. "Fine. I do not like it, but you can go. You'll take an escort, though. You need to be safe."

They seemed a bit unhappy, but nodded at her terms. Clark looked at Wonder Woman like she was crazy. "Diana, you can't-"

"Clark. Do not patronize me."

"...fine..."

That's when Diana looked towards Robin, who was already giving her the "I'm going" look. She nodded. "That's settled. Now, who is taking who?"


	5. Chapter 5

The archers tried to looked unfazed as they walked through the Red Lantern headquarters, but in reality, this was quite frightening. They figured their escorts agreed with them.

"There are about thirty place that I could name right now that I would rather be at than here. Costa Rica, Metropolis, heck even Gotham would be better than-!"

"Guy, just stop talking."

Diana, in the end, decided to sent two escorts with each group. With Roy and Artemis, they sent Guy and Barry. With Robin, they sent Clark and Orion. Hal would've gone too, but he decided that showing up near Sinestro was just asking for a fight.

Atrocitus met them by a tent that one of the Red Lanterns had directed them to. He seemed overly excited for the two archers, but frowned just a bit when he saw Guy and Barry. However, he kept his happy facade up.

"Ah yes, the young archers. Your, ah, mentor, did fairly good today. He shot that Martian down quite impressively."

Artemis looked at him with disgust. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure if he was in his right mind, he would love the thought of annihilating a teammate. It's really his style."

"Listen well, girl! You wouldn't even be seeing your little friend if I didn't allow it!" The large red alien snarled. "You will respect me!"

Artemis backed away in surprise, and that's when Barry stepped in. "We apologize, Atrocitus. Please, just let us see Green Arrow."

The Red being calmed itself. "Only the two children. The others shall wait outside. These are his terms."

Guy was about to argue when Roy stepped in front of him. "That will be fine. Come on, Artemis. Let's go."

The two walked into the tent, leaving Guy and Barry with Atrocitus. When they entered, they looked for Ollie, but found what was in front of them empty. They suddenly got in a back to back combat position.

"It's a trap." Roy growled. That's when they heard laughing.

"Geez, invite someone into a tent, and the minute they don't see anything, they think it's a trap. Heh, I thought you might be glad to see me."

The pair looked up, and then saw Oliver plunge down from a bar that was hanging on top of the tent. They looked at him for a moment, and then realized that this definitely wasn't there Oliver. He looked like him, sounded like him, and even kinda acted like him.

But this wasn't him. Something wasn't right.

To start, he had stolen Roy's color scheme. He also shaved. Oliver never shaved. Ever. His shirt got an addition: a Red Lantern crest right on top of his arrow. If you looked close enough, you could even see the red streaks in his blue eyes.

Then there was something about his attitude. Sure, sometimes he acted like an idiot, but now he seemed a little... malicious. There was something about every single movement that he made that made them think he was hiding something.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? I wouldn't be surprised. I actually saw a cat with a rage ring, ya know? It didn't seem very friendly."

Roy stared at him for a second, and then shook his head. "Oliver, are you ok?"

Oliver laughed. "Actually, I'm better than ok. I'm great! My shots have never been so accurate, my senses never so acute...I think I might be a better hero now than I've ever been before!"

Artemis looked at him skeptically. "You do know that it's only temporary, right? You know that you only keep the ring until someone beats you, or until the tournament is over. Then you go back to green, right?"

The millionaire shrugged. "Green is kind of a mundane color. Honestly, I've been thinking about switching to red. I think Roy found the key to colors before I did."

The two proteges stood there, shocked. Roy glared at the man before him. "Ollie, you're not saying what I think your saying, right?"

The blonde smirked. "Atrocitus actually said that he thinks I would be a pretty good Red Lantern. Besides, I'm tired of being..." He looked disgusted as he said the next word.

"...Human."

Artemis walked over to him, and promptly got in his face. "You can't join the Red Lanterns! Ollie, you being human is what makes you a hero! You can't just...not be!"

"You don't understand!" Oliver shrieked, and flipped a table. Suddenly, Roy grabbed Artemis, and brought her to the edge of the tent. They watched in fear as Oliver let out something they could only describe as rage.

"I've spent night after night trying to save my city, but it's never enough. I can't save them all. I'm weak...and now, I can change that. I can give the justice that those criminals deserve."

"They will face my wrath!"

Artemis and Roy only watched in fear as he ranted. Then, Roy walked up to him, and grabbed him. He pushed him against the wall of the tent, and snarled. "Ollie, you're not weak. You're fine! Nobody can save them all, and going insane isn't going to help anybody! Come on, man, get it together!"

That's when Oliver's eyes turned red, and he suddenly grabbed Artemis and Roy. He raised them to the roof of the tent, and growled.

"Listen closely, children. I will spare you simply because I wish to, but know this. Once this is over, Rage will conquer, and when it does..."

"...You're coming with me."

The two archers were frightened as Oliver set them down. After a few seconds, he smiled at them.

"Good chat, kids," he smirked. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

He then waved them away, and the pair scurried out of the tent, nearly running into a worried Barry and an angry Guy. Barry took one look at them, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, it looks like they're done! Nice talking with you, Atrocitus! Come on Guy!"

The other lantern growled, but followed the speedster anyway. Guy quickly teleported them onto Mogo, and then turned to a frightened Red Arrow and Artemis. He looked at them cautiously.

"You two ok?"

Roy answered first. "No, we're not."

"...And neither is Ollie."


	6. Chapter 6

Robin was a bit nervous as he walked through the Yellow Lantern camp. It was nerve wracking. He thought it might be better if Orion and Clark were near him, but he knew he would feel better if he was with Bruce. He could read Bruce. He could anticipate him.

At least, he used to be. Now, Bruce came with a new array of powers and possibly some new attitude. He was rather frightened to think about what happened to one of the only people he still trusted to make him act the way he did towards Aquaman, but then he scolded himself.

They fed off of fear. He wouldn't let them win.

The Yellow Lantern that was guiding them to Bruce's tent, Arkillo, stopped, and then pointed to a small building that Sinestro was in front of. Robin nodded at the large alien, and walked over to Sinestro with Clark and Orion behind him. Sinestro smirked as the young man approached.

"Robin, Superman, Orion. Nice of you to show up."

Clark growled. "Just let us see him, Sinestro."

The Yellow Lantern smiled at the Kryptonian. "Ah, ah, ah, I don't think so. The Bird is the only one allowed in."

Clark glared, and his heat vision started to show itself. "Sinestro, if you don't let us in now, I will..."

"Superman, stop!"

The large man stopped, and looked to the youngest of the group. Robin looked genuinely concerned. He sighed, and Robin gave him a look.

"I'll be fine. Just wait out here, ok?"

Clark grunted, and Orion just glared at Sinestro. The fear leader just opened the tent door, and Robin walked in.

It was dark. He was almost sure that nothing was in here, and was suddenly reminded of a trap. He decided to be ready to defend himself, but quietly called for his mentor.

"Hey, uh, Batman? You in here?"

"Robin."

The young bat started to turn towards the voice, and found a pair of yellow eyes staring at him. That surprised him, but then he started to giggle nervously, and slowly let his guard down.

"Very funny, Bruce. Now could we, uh, have some light in here?"

The eyes narrowed. "No...There's something that I need to tell you."

Robin didn't like the sound of this. He slowly sat down, and looked up at his mentor. "Ok, I'm all ears, Bats."

The eyes moved up, and then turned away from him to look at the tent wall. Robin heard a sigh. "I don't want you here. Things are about to get dangerous. I cannot afford for you to get hurt. I want you to get out of here. Leave."

Well that was...unexpected. Robin scratched the back of his head in surprise. "Uh, Bruce? Don't you think if someone could get hurt, then I should stay? I mean, it's kinda counterproductive if you're a hero that doesn't save people."

He heard a snarl, and it scared him a bit. "This isn't a game, Robin! I will not have you hurt! You are to get out of here!"

"Batman, what is so frightening that you want me to leave!?" Robin usually didn't argue with his mentor, but at the moment he was just being dramatic and ridiculous. "You're the one who always runs into life and death situations for me, so why can't I do this for you?!"

"This isn't life or death." The yellow eyes now glared at Richard. "This is something much worse that I will not have you be a part of!"

The bird stood up. "Why don't you tell me what's going on?!"

That's when he felt something pick him up by his arms. The being in front of him hissed. "I will not argue ABOUT THIS!"

That's when something flashed before him. It was an image. The same image that had haunted him for years.

His parents falling off the trapeze.

Suddenly, he was pushed back into reality as he fell to the ground. He started to panic as the figure that was in front of him stepped back in fear.

"Bruce, what the hell was that?!"

The being started to mutter. "It...It's getting worse. I can't... I didn't...but...I thought I could control...It's getting to me..."

That's when Robin decided he had enough of whatever weird thing his mentor was doing.

"Damn it, Bruce! Show yourself!"

"..."

Robin started to glare at him. "Do it, or I will go get Clark right now! Come on, trust me a little!"

It was silent for a moment, and then the eyes narrowed. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

There was suddenly a slight glow to the small room, and what Robin saw was a shock.

There was Bruce, without the suit...

...or, at least, he thought so.

There was a yellow glow in his mentor's normally cobalt blue eyes. His canine teeth were noticeably sharper, and his skin was paler. He seemed to be wearing the bat suit, but there, on the top, was a large yellow bat with a Sinestro Corps sign in the middle. However, despite all of this, the crowning glory of his new look were the large bat wings that looked too real for Dick's liking.

"Are those...uh..."

"Yes."

"...Oh..."

He just continued to stare, and then nervously laughed. "So, what? Is his big plan to turn you into a vampire. I don't really see what that's going to accomplish."

Bruce glared at his protege. "This isn't a game, Robin. He's turning me into what I fear the most. A monster."

Robin simply backed away from his mentor, and he turned around. "So...what are you going to do?"

Bruce looked at him, and sighed. "I...I don't know. He's messing with my mind. I can only block him out for so long, and that's only when I'm resting. During fights, the ring takes over and...well, you saw it. If this keeps up, I might be completely gone by tomorrow. That's why I called you."

Robin kept his back to his mentor, and tried his best to keep the tears in. "No...There has to be a way. Maybe if we destroy the ring, or maybe Sinestro...We could-."

"Robin." The bird turned, and looked at his mentor. The man looked...sad. "I...I want you to know that I...couldn't have asked for a better partner."

That made Robin sniff. "No...Bruce, you'll be fine...We have to..."

Bruce turned away. "Please, just get off this planet. Do it for me."

That's when Robin ran up, and hugged his mentor. A physical show of affection between the two was almost unheard of, but this might be the last time they...

To Robin's surprise, his action was returned. They stayed like that for a moment, and then Bruce pulled away. "Robin...Good luck. Now hurry out there. Clark probably thinks I've eaten you or some other stupid idea that would run through his overly paranoid head."

Robin smiled sadly, knowing that this might be the last sarcastic joke about the Man of Steel that he would ever hear. He walked out the door, and looked at Bruce.

"Don't worry, Bruce. We...We'll figure something out."

He opened the door, but Bruce stopped him.

"One last thing." The man's face hardened. "Do not come back here, regardless of it at my request or not. It might be a trap."

Robin nodded, and glanced sadly at his mentor one more time. The look was returned, and the bird was off. Clark and Orion seemed happy to see him. Sooner than he expected, they entered the camp, and imagine Robin's surprise when he was met with a scene of two panicking archers.

"Uh, guys? Are you ok?"

That's when Roy ran up to him, and hugged him. To say the bat was startled would be an understatement.

"Your alive!"

"...Yeah...kinda."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! So the first thing I'd like to say is thank you for reading! I really do appreciate all the support. That being said, I cannot express how important reviews are to me. Good or bad, your criticism makes my writing better. Since this is my first story posted to my account, it would really mean the world to me if you would point out the things you do and don't like about it so my future stories can be even better. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy!**

After discussing exactly what happened during their visits (and by everything, they meant every single detail, no matter how insignificant) they all started forming plans.

"All right, let's go over what we know." Hal made a green board that listed all the information that they could gather from the situation. "So, we know that this tournament is more than it seems to be. We know that Sinestro and Atrocitus know what's going on, and Larfleeze probably knows what's happening. We know that Oliver knows, and Bruce either does know or will know at a later point."

Artemis interjected. "The rings employ some sort of mind control."

Hal nodded, and added it to the board. Someone else spoke up. "The benefactor should fit in somewhere. Maybe the prize is something evil, or the benefactor is giving away some artifact that could do something evil."

Guy added that to board. "Hey, uhh, can we add that the rings lose their mind things once they're removed. I mean, I just talked to Kaldur, and apparently J'onn woke up and helped fix some of Aquaman's mind. He said that there's a little residual orange power, but it should fade away soon."

Everyone smiled at the good news, and they wrote it on the board. That's when Robin spoke up. "Hey, so now that J'onn provided witness, does that mean that they'll cancel the tournament?"

Everyone looked hopeful, but then John Stewart walked in, shaking his head. "I just finished talking to the Guardians. They said that just because Larfleeze didn't follow through with his deal doesn't give us warrant to search the others. Until they can prove either Bruce or Oliver is messed up, then the tournament will continue as planned."

That's when Artemis and Roy both stood up. "Really?! How much more proof could they need?!"

Hal shrugged, and then looked at the upset teens. "Listen, they can't let intergalactic peace pass by because of something they perceive as an isolated incident. Don't worry. As long as we can defeat either Oliver or Bruce, then everything should work out in our favor."

"Are we sure about this plan?" Wally asked, nervously. "I mean, do we have a back up plan?"

Hal looked at him.

"I know it's not a lot, but it's the only chance we've got. If it get's screwed up, well..."

"...then, we'll improvise."

"Welcome to day two of the Corp Unitation Tournament. Our first match today will be Fear versus Hope. I repeat, the first match today will be Fear versus Hope. This will start in fifteen minutes."

Robin shivered. It was colder today, and just the general anxiety was making him upset. What if Clark couldn't defeat Bruce? What if they couldn't get him back? What if that really was the last time he spoke to his guardian?

These thoughts swirled around his head as he sat down next to Wally. The ginger could sense his friends distress, and decided to try and cheer him up.

"Come on, man. I'm sure he'll be fine. He's Batman, after all. When has anything ever beat him?"

Robin smiled. "Thanks Wally."

"Will everyone please be seated. It's time to begin round four."


	8. Chapter 8

This round started differently, allowing for the contestants to head in before the actual round began. When the buzzer did signal the start, everyone waited for a sighting of a contestant. The setting was a small mountain environment, allowing for several caves and plants to hide behind.

The first sign that there was life was a bright red beam that shot out from behind a large rock blocking the view. However, the suspense was short lived, as a burst of yellow and blue light were suddenly clashing far above the fake clouds.

They were exchanging blows, and only now did the group take in the changes that Robin had mentioned. The large black wings allowed the once human to stay airborne, and the served him well. He created gusts to set the Kryptonian off balance to make him an easier target.

However, Superman wasn't just letting himself get pushed around. His heat vision and his freezing breath constantly messed with the temperature, causing Bruce to feel dizzy and sick.

It seemed as if this would go on forever, but suddenly, Bruce got a lucky hit. Superman started falling, and the Bat raced after him. He started beating the Man of Steel up, throwing him into rocks and dropping him over spires.

It seemed as if Clark had lost the will to fight, so Batman dropped him off on the large round slab in the middle of the field. He started to walk away when Clark's eyes opened. He growled, angry at Bruce. Suddenly, Clark's ring glowed, and there was soon a giant construct of Superman, glowing in an all blue glory.

The bat seemed surprised, but started flying to evade the now enormous Kryptonian. Clark started to swing at what was the bat that looked like a bug. Everyone was in awe, and soon enough, as everyone expected, he landed a hit on Batman. The yellow covered being started falling and crashed into the ground. A small crater was made.

Clark realized what he had done, and quickly shrunk back to his original size. He ran over to where his friend had fallen, and was horrified to see the Batman bruised and bloodied. It was all the broken body could do to speak.

"I'm...going...to...die...because...of...you..."

He continued to cough blood, and Clark started to freak out. He looked at the Batman, pleading for him to stay alive. Suddenly, he heard the man flatline, and Clark started to screech.

"Help! Somebody! Help him! He's dying!"

He continued to cry out hysterically. However, he didn't notice a small thumping noise in the background. He was absolutely consumed with grief.

That small thumping noise, however, made it's way behind the man. Clark began to wonder where the medics were, and continued to stare and yell at the body. It was too late by the time he turned around.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain to the back of his head, and all Clark could see was black. A large dark figure protruded his vision, and the hero just snarled.

"You tricked me..."

The black figure simply stared as the Kryptonian faded away.

Suddenly, the buzzer went off, and Clark was marked unconscious. Bruce quickly disappeared, and the medics grabbed Superman. The Justice League watched in defeat.

"How did he knock Clark out?!" Diana said in astonishment.

Hawkwoman looked just about as angry as she did. Barry ran down to the med lab and back. "It seems that Batman somehow made a numbing agent with that yellow light. After continuously smashing him into those spires, he must've created a tiny break in Clark's skin behind the neck. All he needed to do was distract Clark, and then administer it. Clark should be fine. They said he'd wake up before the next match."

Everyone sighed in relief. Then, they sat in silence. It was a few minutes until someone spoke again. "What happens if Hal loses?"

"He won't."

Everyone turned to see Clark, who was looking quite upset. "That cheating little Bat! How did he even find venom? That can't be possible! And besides, he can't cut my skin unless he has kryptonite! I wanna know exactly how he did what he did!"

Guy spluttered. "They aren't allowed to bring any weapon besides the ring. He couldn't have brought any kryptonite in if he would've tried. The Guardians would've confiscated it."

That's when J'onn piped in. "I wonder if it was a mental scratch rather than physical."

Everyone looked at the Martian skeptically.

"What do ya mean, J'onn?" Clark asked.

The Martian looked back at the field, and shook his head. "I believe that Batman is using his yellow ring to create non-physical scenarios based upon our greatest fears and insecurities. He is some how using the energy to reach into our psych and make them seem real to his victim. As with you, Clark, he pushed the impression that you abused your power and accidently killed one of your colleagues. As soon as you gave into the fear that he might be dead, he created a small entrance into your mind which allowed him to infiltrate your mind and shut you down."

Clark looked upset at the realization. He then growled, and turned away from the League and their partners. "How could he do this to us?!"

The small group became silent, most from surprise, a few from anger, and the remaining from agreement. Many of them were contemplating what he had said when J'onn spoke again, softer than before.

"Listen, Clark," J'onn set his hand on Superman's shoulders. The Man of Steel tensed, but he persisted. "Bruce is not doing this of his own accord. We only have Sinestro to blame for the current situation."

The reporter turned around, and pushed the telepath away. He then snarled. "Well I'm sure the almighty Batman could break free from the ring if he actually wanted to!"

That's when everyone looked at him in shock and disapproval. Suddenly, Clark realized what he had said, and before he could utter an apology, Robin had already pinned him down.

"He's almost died for you!"

Clark looked at him in awe and a bit of fear, but the bird kept him on the ground. He looked almost murderous. "Do you know how many times he's saved you?! How many times he's helped you?! Do you?! DO ANY OF YOU?!"

They all looked guilty at Robin's sudden outburst, but it wasn't over. Robin ripped a pouch open, and soon enough had a green, glowing dagger pointed at the alien. Clark gasped out of surprise, and knew he should do something fast or the Dark Squire might just do something all of them would regret.

"Robin..." Wally whispered nervously, worried that his best friend might just finish the Kryptonian off.

"I could do it..." He whispered, holding it next to Kal El's throat. "You have no idea the rage I've held for you for years. The fact that you were invincible, that you could go into battle without any scratches, make any mistakes or decisions as you wanted, and all you had to worry about is the little green rock I'm holding in my hand."

Everyone stayed silent, not exactly sure what to do, or what they could do. Robin continued. " You cannot wish to know the pain I went through every damn night wishing that Bruce could have that guarantee, that he would always come back. I have already lost my family once..."

He brought it close enough to Clark's throat to draw blood, and Clark let out a gasp and cringe of pain. Robin lowered himself to Clark's ear, and whispered.

"You can guarantee that if you wish to be his destruction that I will do everything in my power to end you before you even get close."

Clark looked at the bird, and could've bet that he saw some color behind the mask...it looked almost red. However, he didn't have time to think it over, as the bird suddenly vanished into the crowd. As soon as he was gone, several of the Young Justice members disappeared to look for him, and the remaining League members rushed to his side.

They were all preoccupied, so they didn't notice the faint red glow that was above them. There, in the rafters, hid three Lanterns.

"That should keep Hal preoccupied," The blonde one smirked. Atrocitus smiled widely, and Sinestro soon walked up to him as well.

"It seems as if everything will fall into place without the Justice League interfering," Sinestro said, amused.

Atrocitus laughed. "Hey, can I have the kid? His rage was pretty impressive. He'd make a good Red Lantern."

Sinestro waved his hand. "I could honestly care less what happens to the rest of them. I have gathered my prize. The rest you can use."

The Yellow Lantern started to float away, and then turned around at the last second. "Good luck, Oliver, and do try not to lose. That will just put more pressure on our plans than I would like."

The archer smiled viciously, showing teeth that now looked more like fangs. "Oh, don't worry..."

"I have a special plan for my old friend..."


	9. Chapter 9

Hal ran through the trees, trying to avoid the red arrows that were constantly too close for his liking.

Everything was going wrong.

They couldn't find Robin before the match began, Oliver was, at the moment, crazy and trying to kill Hal, and It was almost too obvious that something was wrong with the entire tournament.

Intergalactic peace his butt! This was nothing but underlying schemes and mind control!

Lots and lots of mind control.

"Come on, Hal, just give up!"

Hal cursed as another ray of red nicked his arm. He was thinking on the fly, and soon found a large rock to hide behind. He sighed in relief, and looked his situation over.

So he was in the middle of a tournament that could quite possibly kill him. Two of the strongest members of the Justice League were turned into their worst enemies, and one of their partners suddenly attacked and almost killed Superman. He was running for his life, the others were stuck watching him get his but kicked, and it was quite possible that the fate of the universe was dependant of his next move.

He took a quick peek over the rock, and watched as a missile suddenly whooshed by him deeper into the forest. He ducked down again, and heard a large explosion.

Damn! Where the heck did Ollie get all of this rage from?!

The Green Lantern looked out from the rock, and slowly crept behind a large tree. Suddenly, he heard the crunching of leaves and sticks.

"Come out, come out, Hal," He snickered. "The sooner you do, the easier I'll go on you."

He tried to keep his breathing silent as the figure approached. He listened for the sound of snapping twigs. It lasted for what seemed like an eternity, but soon enough, there was Green Arrow, right next to the tree.

Green Lantern knew that he only had seconds before the archer realized that he was there. In a last ditch effort, he made a large fist, and brought it down on his head. Oliver turned two seconds too late, and felt a sharp pain in his head.

He was soon dropped into darkness.

It was quiet for a moment, but then Hal realized exactly what this entailed.

"I won...I won!" He was pretty surprised, in all honesty. He expected to fail this round, but this unexpected victory was definitely welcomed.

The stadium erupted into whoops and hollers, thoroughly thrilled with the Red Lantern's defeat.

The med team came to grabe Oliver, and Hal quickly made his way to the rest of the League. They started to celebrate, and everyone offered their own form of congratulations.

He was happy, but it was almost too soon that he knew he had to ask.

"Did you find Robin?"

Wonder Woman smiled. "Yes, we did. Somehow, he ended up behind the stadium. He was a little roughed up, but J'onn managed to take care of him and now he's fine. He didn't have any memory of the attack either. Robin says he only remembers red, but I imagine that it won't be a problem again."

Hal smiled, happy to know that Robin was safe (though it still unnerved him to know that he carried around kryptonite). Wally came up to him next.

"Yeah, he said he wished you the best. You should've seen him, Hal! He apologized to Clark faster than it would take me to run to China and back."

Everyone chuckled a bit at that, but then the conversation took a serious turn.

"Does anyone know what happened to Green Arrow?" Hal asked. Everyone tensed.

Orion shrugged. "The man seemed to have a concussion last time we checked, but otherwise he's fine. They managed to pry the red ring off of him. He is sleeping at the moment. Clark and Guy are down there watching him now."

Zatara nodded. "He will be fine. We have other things to worry about at the present moment."

Hal sighed. Within the hype of the victory, he had forgotten about the final showdown. He sighed. "Yeah, let's head back to Mogo."

"Then we can decide what to do about Bruce."

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"Guys! Guys! Wake up!"

Flash's voice rang through the camp. Everyone was startled by its sudden appearance, but decided it would be in their best interest to find out what he was yelling so loudly about.

"What is it, Barry?"

"Yeah, what's with all the commotion?"

"I was sleeping!"

The speedster looked panicked. Wonder Woman, in an attempt to calm him and get to the bottom of his sudden panic attack, slowly put her hand on his shoulder. "What is ailing you, Barry?"

"Green Arrow was kidnapped from the infirmary!"

Everyone looked at him in shock. Hawkwoman was flabbergasted. "How did that happen? Who took him?!"

"I dunno!" Barry said quickly. "He was down there resting while John and I were on our shift. We were doing our thing, and then bam! We both blacked out. Once I came to, he was gone!"

Everyone started to mumble, but it was Roy who spoke what was on everyone's mind. "I bet it was Atrocitus!"

Barry nodded. "That's what we thought, too, so John went to go ask the Guardians if they could search the Red Lantern camp ground. He said it might take a while, though."

"How can it take a while?!" Artemis yelled. "They've already seen the damage! Aquaman was almost fried fish, Oliver almost killed Martian Manhunter as well as Green Lantern, and on top of all this, the Batman has turned into the freaking King of Nightmares himself! What kind of proof could they possibly need?!"

That's when the fight erupted. Some people were with Artemis, not ready to have any more damage dealt to the league. Others were with the Lanterns, who were afraid that going in guns blazing might cause a bigger problem. Another majority was just trying to stop the fighting.

Nobody could really hear him walk in.

Nobody saw him plant a bomb.

Somebody noticed when people started dropping to the ground unconscious.

Even more noticed when the door was suddenly sealed shut.


	10. Chapter 10

Richard Grayson had his fair share of being kidnapped. It had happened to him as a civilian, as a ward, and now as a spectator. He groaned as soon as he sat up, and was met with a very badly lit, very large cell. There were two dim lights in the room, and with the small amount of vision he had, he noticed that there was no one else in the room.

"Hello?"

"Ahh, your awake…."

Dick looked around the room, and the voice chuckled. "No, no, I'm not actually here at the moment. You can't see me unless I want you to see me."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"I actually want the same thing as you…" Suddenly, a large, yellow bat dropped down from the ceiling, and it nearly gave Dick a heart attack. The bat chuckled.

"I apologize. I imagine yellow really isn't your favorite color right now."

"What the hell are you?!"

"Oh yes, introductions." The bat flew up close to his face. "I am the healthy manifestation of Bruce's fear."

Richard would've backed away, but he hit stone. He simply glared at the creature. "Get away from me!"

"A simple hello would do," The bat muttered. It then sighed. "Calm down, Richard. I know this seems bad right now, but I truly do have good intentions. I came down here to watch over you and ask you for your help."

"That's it though!" Dick growled. "How do I know you're not going to lead me on a wild goose chase, and make me too late to save Bruce? How do I know you're not working for Sinestro?"

"Bruce is sick."

It was quiet for a moment, and then Robin looked at the bat. "What do you mean by "sick"?"

"He's confused. His mind can't comprehend what his body is doing, and eventually, Bruce won't be able to handle the confusion. Nobody will…."

Dick looked at the creature. "What do you mean?"

"Bruce has certain failsafes in place in his mind that he doesn't know about. His "No-Kill" rule is one of those failsafes. Another one is something very, very dangerous, something that should never be activated. If it is, then we are all in great peril."

Robin thought about this for a moment, and sighed. "Suppose I believe you. What exactly is this failsafe?"

"It is called Zur-En-Arrh." The bat creature said gravely. "We who make up parts of Bruce greatly fear it, but generally it is silent. If this keeps up, though, Zur-En-Arrh will break through, and these lanterns will be a small speck compared to the danger he will present."

"Wait, I don't understand." Dick said, confused. "If Bruce's mind is in a state of fear, why would you want it to stop? Don't you get power from it?"

"You see, Richard, there are two parts to Bruce's fear. I am the part of him that feels fear." It explained. " There is another part of him that gives off fear. Both of us gain power, which is why, since Bruce has a yellow fear ring, it allows me to make myself a manifestation. Both parts of his fear, however, want what is best for Bruce. We both have enough power in the mind of the billionaire as it is, but this is putting us, and Bruce, at risk."

"Where's the other part?"

"The other part of fear is, at the moment, following Bruce and trying to keep Zur-En-Arrh at bay. Both of us figured that I am a more so approachable type of fear. I am basically Bruce's paranoia, the fear of something that could happen but most likely won't. He is much more, well, frightening. Does this make sense?"

"Wait, so-"

"I know you have questions, and I would love to answer them, but Bruce is in trouble at the moment. Will you help me?"

Dick looked back on this week, and on his situation. He sighed, knowing that he most likely couldn't get out of here on his own. This was his best bet to get out of here, even if it seemed a bit sketchy.

"Alright, just get me out of here."

The bat smirked, and its eyes closed. Suddenly, Richard's chains fell off. The Boy Wonder fell to the ground, and looked at the bat.

"Now, let's go get a few of your other friends."


	11. Chapter 11

Artemis had to say, she was a bit skeptical of Robin and the giant yellow bat and the quick "I will explain later" comment. However, it got her, Roy, Me'gann, J'onn,Orion, Captain Atom, Wally, and Barry out of their shackles, so she could live with it.

"Rob, what's going on?" Wally asked, still rubbing his wrists.

"Bruce is going to go insane and we were captured. Other than that? I'm as clueless as you."

"We don't have much time," the creature hissed. "The final match will start in mere moments, and I do not doubt that your other compatriots are locked away somewhere else in the vicinity."

"Before we go anywhere else, we need to figure out something." Dick said, exhausted. "Barry was with Wally, Me'gann was with J'onn, but Artemis and Roy aren't with Oliver. This leads me to believe that they must've put the rings back on Aquaman and Oliver. This also means that-"

"We have an extra two people to hate us," Roy growled. "Fantastic."

"We should make haste," the bat said. "I can feel Bruce's mind failing in its defenses. "

They were suddenly startled when they heard a banging on the door. Everyone stepped back for a second, expecting something to attack. The archers readied their arrows, Wally and Barry got into start position, J'onn and Me'gann were hovering ever so slightly, and Robin took out a few disks. However, when nothing fell from the rafters, the group let their guard down, and Barry smirked.

"I'll bet anyone ten bucks that inside that door are two very upset Kryptonians."

The yellow bat swiftly glided over to the door, and moved the knob. Right once he did, the thing burst open. The two captives jumped out the door, ready to fight, and suddenly settled themselves down in relief of the party that was currently occupying the hallway.

"Oh, man, it's you guys!" Clark squealed with delight. "I thought that you would all be stuck in a cell somewhere."

"Thank Bruce's manifestation of paranoia."

"What?"

"No time to talk, we need to find Kaldur."

They ended up finding the Atlantean in the room on the end of the corridor. Kaldur thanked them for his rescue as he joined them in the hallway. Once they were together, they tried to figure out a way to get out.

"How about the vents?"

"It would take too long and be too risky."

"Doorway?"

"We don't know where one is, and there has to be hundreds of hallways in this thing."

"Windows?"

"We're underground, Wally."

The bat suddenly flew over the crowd and landed on Robin's head. "I believe I have a solution."

Suddenly, the yellow creature's gaze moved toward Clark, and it smirked.

"How do you feel about going up?"

It was actually a good plan. Clark drilled a hole through the ceiling, and dropped down a rope. One by one, everyone climbed to the top. Dick and the bat followed the group from behind. It was a long way, but it was worth it to get out of the compound. He pushed himself out of the hole, and took a breathe of air with relief.

The relief part was short lived.

Robin only got a second to realize that he and his team were surrounded by dozens of yellow lanterns. Sinestro was in the front, and was smiling quite happily. Robin quickly jumped into fight mode, and the yellow leader just chuckled.

"It seems that you are only two seconds too late. The match will start soon and Bruce is already succombing to the power of the yellow ring. It is only time before he wins us the match."

The yellow bat flew up, and scowled. "Sinestro. You have no idea what you've done."

The former green lantern laughed. "I guess you'll never know. Now, I have some people you will want to meet."

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, two figures dropped from the ceiling. The figures made the large group gasp.

"My king," Kaldur said in horror.

"Hey, kids," Oliver smirked. "Long time, no see."

"Ollie," Artemis whispered.

"Now, now, don't be so upset. We still have use for all of you, we just need you to lay low for a few hours. Can we do this without violence?"

Superman stepped forward, eyes glowing red with heat. Arthur cracked his knuckles while Oliver smirked.

"Oh, no! Supes has the scary eyes! Whatever shall we do? Oh, wait, I know…."

"Lanterns, attack!"


End file.
